Seattle police respond to two cases of shots fired

Someone fired a gun in the air early Sunday, then pointed it at two people in the University District and both parties exchanged words, the Seattle police reported.

The incident occurred around 2:50 a.m. in the 5000 block of 20th Avenue Northeast, police said. Two people called police to report that someone who was at a nearby house party had fired a gun.

Officers approached the house but could not find the person who fired the weapon. They added that everyone they talked with was intoxicated.

The report of shots fired was the second one Seattle police handled since Saturday evening.

Around 5:50 p.m., police dispatchers received a call from a North Seattle man who said someone had threatened him. Police reported that he sounded paranoid and told dispatchers that he had a gun.

He later told police that he would shoot anyone who approached his driveway but would secure his gun when officers arrived. Neighbors in the 8300 block of Eighth Avenue Northwest called police to say they heard what sound like three gunshots.

Officers finally contacted the man, who told them he fired the bullets by accident. The man left his house, and officers arrested him on suspicion on weapons violations. He was booked into King County Jail.

The man has been scheduled for a mental health evaluation. At the scene, officers recovered two handguns.